I’m Drawing a Line in the Sand

First, let me say, I am a native born Texan, so using such an euphemism is ingrained into my DNA and apropos. I was born and raised in Abilene out in West Texas (yeah, it’s actually a separate place–especially in state-of-mind), it’s a big, little town, home to oil and ranching, cotton farming and vineyards, and friendly-to-the-extreme, God-fearin’, hard workin’, honest, my word-is-my-bond and my handshake-is-my-signature folks. It’s a huge place out there where you can drive thirty miles on a US highwayand meet one car (only) in the middle of the day; where if you come up behind a farmer/rancher driving a little slower than the posted 70 mph speed limit and certainly slower than your interpretation of that same limit, which is probably closer to 80 mph, he’ll pull onto the shoulder so you can pass safely without having to change lanes into the on-coming traffic; where we spend most of Sunday in church no matter what denomination or faith you are and we take high school football as a second religion. It’s also a place where the term Yankee isn’t meant to refer to a NY baseball team, it’s a term for someone from “up North” and someone we have a hard time understanding (not just in language) but how they think and live; so sometimes it’s a derisive term, but mostly it’s just a description. The old joke in Texas is that a Yankee is someone that lives up North, a damn Yankee is a person that comes from up North to visit, and a G-damn Yankee is someone from up north that comes down to Texas and STAYS!  BTW (in full disclosure), I’m married to one of those and she’s a real nice lady, and fortunately has lived in Texas for over 20 years so has been naturalized as a Texas citizen.

Now, all that said, I’m also an American. I served my country in the US Navy riding a submarine and have lived in many of states through my Navy days and since. Since, 9/11, I tear up and get a lump in my throat EVERY time I hear the National Anthem, and would have gladly served again in the military after if they’d had me (too old now). And what’s going on in this country right now tears my loyalties. I cannot speak to all Texans’, West or the remainder of the state (about half), politics; I can only speak to mine and y’all know what that is–just so you know, yesterday DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed (stood by the Departments assessment) that I am a frakkin’ right-wing extremist radical inclined to become a violent militia member because I am anti-abortion, anti-illegal immigration, anti-massive government and socialist spending and any number of other criteria that was listed in the assessment.

So, to the three extremist issues that are burning up the blogs

I Loved Ron Silver; R.I.P., Ron

For those conservatives of us that knew of Ron Silver’s brazen patriotic and brave stand against the Hollyweird Liberals, Socialists and Talking Idiots know we have lost a true warrior for our side when Ron passed away after his years-long fight against esophageal cancer on Sunday.

There have been many lines of  written words extolling his virtues in the last few days, but none came to mean more to me than Ann Coulter’s personal and touching eulogy in Human Events today.

God Bless Ron’s work and our prayers go to his friends and family. Rest in Peace, Ron, and thank you.

Silver’s Bravery Not an Act

by Ann Coulter (more by this author)

Posted 03/18/2009 ET
Updated 03/18/2009 ET

I wish I could ask Ron Silver what he thinks of the AIG bonuses. He’d have some original take — maybe propose re-opening the bonuses paid to Franklin Raines and Jamie Gorelick for their yeoman’s work running Fannie Mae into the ground and then collecting bonuses of $90 million and $24.7 million, respectively. Or maybe he’d just make a joke.

But I can’t ask him anymore because Ron died of a rare esophageal cancer last Sunday.

So now there is one less person in the world who never chooses his positions to feed a pompous ego or to stroke his self-image as a thinking person. There was no point to posturing for Ron: His social standing in Hollywood was revoked the moment he supported Bush and the Iraq War.

Perhaps Ron always spoke his mind, but I didn’t know him when he was “brave”; I only knew Ron when he was actually brave.

I’ve noticed that words like “brave” and “courageous” are mostly used nowadays to mean “left-wing.” We’re constantly asked to admire the monumental courage of Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Janeane Garofalo and the Dixie Chicks — sometimes even by other people.

But for my younger readers, what courage traditionally meant was risking the disapprobation of people you know. It was about losing friends, losing work and losing status where you live — not alienating people you will never meet. Insulting people in Kansas when you live in Los Angeles is not speaking truth to power; it’s speaking anything to serve power.

One thing you cannot say about Ron’s magnificent speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention is that he did it to go with the flow in Hollywood, to take the path of least resistance, to win easy applause. Ron did lose work, lose friends and lose his entire social apparatus.